Albert will be made an offer he can't refuse...something like; "Either the money from the pot is returned to Brandon, or he will be fitted for a pair of cement shoes and taken for a ride!" Seriously, the fact that the cash game is played in a casino, and the "eye in the sky" confirmed the mistake...I can't imagine any player refusing to return the pot to the rightful owner.

Lets take the worst scenario and Albert is leaving with the money before security can even stop him. Albert should be forever barred from returning and the amount of the pot should be given to Brandon. Either the house or the dealer might be asked to make up for Brandon's financial loss.

I know of no rule that would support what I've written. However, I do remember years ago when dealing in Las Vegas, dealers being responsible for pushing the pot to the wrong player. My experiences occurred in lower limit games, and the pot size was usually not equal to a weeks salary but that was the way it was handled. The player that was not the winner would almost always return the money, so it never really had a terrible ending...but that's the way it was.

Our rule is that the player must give him the $If he refuses, he is banned until he paysThe casino will pay the winner what he is owed, as it was our errorThat guy is never coming back until the casino gets their money from him

Is it really stealing though? They were given to him by the dealer. We don't contact police because we gave him the chips, albeit in error, but all we can do is ask for them back. If he refuses, we escort him out and don't let him back til the $ is returned. This is the same if a dealer overpaid someone, for example on roulette, or they paid a push in blackjack, etc.

I think you're going a little too easy on that player. Barring a player from returning to your casino or poker game might be effective if the guilty party is a regular player. There are many players that are tourists and barring them from returning might not be punishment enough, if at all.

Small amounts of cash awarded by mistake are much easier to deal with as opposed to larger amounts that might be substantial. As rules go, I realise the amount should be irrelevant.

In the original situation, all players, including Albert, knew the pot was awarded to the wrong player...no way he walks out of my game with that money.

You guys are under the assumption that the Poker Room makes the rules for the casino. Our policy is that I can't stop a player from cashing out chips, but I can delay the process long enough for Security and the authorities to arrive.